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Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices

Modulated electromagnetic fields (wEMFs), as generated by modern communication technologies, have raised concerns about adverse health effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies them as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B), yet, the underlying molecular mechan...

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Autores principales: Schuermann, David, Ziemann, Christina, Barekati, Zeinab, Capstick, Myles, Oertel, Antje, Focke, Frauke, Murbach, Manuel, Kuster, Niels, Dasenbrock, Clemens, Schär, Primo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7230863/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32218170
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes11040347
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author Schuermann, David
Ziemann, Christina
Barekati, Zeinab
Capstick, Myles
Oertel, Antje
Focke, Frauke
Murbach, Manuel
Kuster, Niels
Dasenbrock, Clemens
Schär, Primo
author_facet Schuermann, David
Ziemann, Christina
Barekati, Zeinab
Capstick, Myles
Oertel, Antje
Focke, Frauke
Murbach, Manuel
Kuster, Niels
Dasenbrock, Clemens
Schär, Primo
author_sort Schuermann, David
collection PubMed
description Modulated electromagnetic fields (wEMFs), as generated by modern communication technologies, have raised concerns about adverse health effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies them as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B), yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms initiating and promoting tumorigenesis remain elusive. Here, we comprehensively assess the impact of technologically relevant wEMF modulations on the genome integrity of cultured human cells, investigating cell type-specificities as well as time- and dose-dependencies. Classical and advanced methodologies of genetic toxicology and DNA repair were applied, and key experiments were performed in two separate laboratories. Overall, we found no conclusive evidence for an induction of DNA damage nor for alterations of the DNA repair capacity in cells exposed to several wEMF modulations (i.e., GSM, UMTS, WiFi, and RFID). Previously reported observations of increased DNA damage after exposure of cells to GSM-modulated signals could not be reproduced. Experimental variables, presumably underlying the discrepant observations, were investigated and are discussed. On the basis of our data, we conclude that the possible carcinogenicity of wEMF modulations cannot be explained by an effect on genome integrity through direct DNA damage. However, we cannot exclude non-genotoxic, indirect, or secondary effects of wEMF exposure that may promote tumorigenesis in other ways.
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spelling pubmed-72308632020-05-22 Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices Schuermann, David Ziemann, Christina Barekati, Zeinab Capstick, Myles Oertel, Antje Focke, Frauke Murbach, Manuel Kuster, Niels Dasenbrock, Clemens Schär, Primo Genes (Basel) Article Modulated electromagnetic fields (wEMFs), as generated by modern communication technologies, have raised concerns about adverse health effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies them as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B), yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms initiating and promoting tumorigenesis remain elusive. Here, we comprehensively assess the impact of technologically relevant wEMF modulations on the genome integrity of cultured human cells, investigating cell type-specificities as well as time- and dose-dependencies. Classical and advanced methodologies of genetic toxicology and DNA repair were applied, and key experiments were performed in two separate laboratories. Overall, we found no conclusive evidence for an induction of DNA damage nor for alterations of the DNA repair capacity in cells exposed to several wEMF modulations (i.e., GSM, UMTS, WiFi, and RFID). Previously reported observations of increased DNA damage after exposure of cells to GSM-modulated signals could not be reproduced. Experimental variables, presumably underlying the discrepant observations, were investigated and are discussed. On the basis of our data, we conclude that the possible carcinogenicity of wEMF modulations cannot be explained by an effect on genome integrity through direct DNA damage. However, we cannot exclude non-genotoxic, indirect, or secondary effects of wEMF exposure that may promote tumorigenesis in other ways. MDPI 2020-03-25 /pmc/articles/PMC7230863/ /pubmed/32218170 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes11040347 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Schuermann, David
Ziemann, Christina
Barekati, Zeinab
Capstick, Myles
Oertel, Antje
Focke, Frauke
Murbach, Manuel
Kuster, Niels
Dasenbrock, Clemens
Schär, Primo
Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title_full Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title_fullStr Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title_short Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices
title_sort assessment of genotoxicity in human cells exposed to modulated electromagnetic fields of wireless communication devices
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7230863/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32218170
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes11040347
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